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2020-07-22T10:24:25-05:00
Child Poverty

  Nearly 170 Organizations Call for Congress to Include the Pandemic TANF Assistance Act in the Next COVID-19 Relief Package

We urge Congress to demonstrate their commitment to addressing systemic poverty and racial, and gender disparities by including the Pandemic TANF Assistance Act in the next COVID-19 legislative package. The emergency grant program included in this bill would help families and children, especially families of color, meet their basic needs and is an essential part of more significant action and assistance needed for our most vulnerable.

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2020-07-13T14:44:33-05:00
Child Welfare

  The Child Welfare Emergency Assistance Act Would Assist Children and Families During the COVID-19 Health Crisis

On July 2, Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced the Child Welfare Emergency Assistance Act of 2020 (S. 4172). The bill will provide a much-needed infusion of emergency resources to help the child welfare system adequately respond to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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2020-07-14T12:32:17-05:00
Health

  CDF Urges Congress to Enhance Medicaid FMAP to Provide Needed Health Care Services to Families

Given the magnitude of both the public health and economic crises the nation continues to face, state and local governments need more support to provide health care services to individuals and families. We urge Congress to provide an additional FMAP increase of at least 5.8 percentage points, be retroactive to January 1, 2020, and remain until September 30, 2021, regardless of unemployment conditions. After September 30, 2021, the 12 percent FMAP increase should not be reduced until the national unemployment rate falls below 5 percent. In addition, we request additional FMAP increases be determined based on the increase in a state’s unemployment rate.

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2020-07-07T08:57:08-05:00
Child Welfare

  Increase Chafee Funds to Protect and Support Foster Care Youth

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the failure of the child welfare system to appropriately prepare older youth for adulthood. Each year, nearly 20,000 children “age out” of the child welfare system, reaching adulthood without the security, consistency, and support of a permanent family. When children are thrust into adulthood without that support, they have worse outcomes and are confronted with obstacles no young person should face alone. In ordinary times, youth who age out of care experience high rates of homelessness and poor educational attainment; these outcomes are exacerbated by the current crisis. Across the country, youth from foster care are losing their jobs and their homes and are facing serious food and economic insecurity without the support of family, yet Congress has failed to provide them with relief. Congress must act now to provide $500 million in emergency funding for the John H. Chafee Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood to ensure these youth with unique needs are not left behind.

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2020-07-02T10:34:45-05:00
Child Poverty

  CDF Urges Congress to Expand the Child Tax Credit

Ample research tells us that strengthening and expanding the Child Tax Credit and converting it into a monthly child allowance is one of the most powerful ways to address child poverty and increase long-term positive outcomes for our children. We strongly urge Congress to adopt changes to the Child Tax Credit, reflecting the provisions in the American Family Act (S.690/H.R. 1560), to ensure it is fully refundable and reaches all children in low- and no-income households with the greatest need.

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2020-06-22T09:19:57-05:00
Child Poverty

  CDF Joins Over 2,000 Organizations Urging Congress to Expand SNAP Amid COVID-19

COVID-19 has exacerbated already too high levels of food insecurity in America. We urge Congress and the White House to take action now to limit the depth and duration of this health and economic crisis by ensuring that the basic food needs of struggling families and individuals are met. Congress and the White House must act now to increase the SNAP maximum benefit, increase the SNAP monthly minimum benefit, and suspend SNAP time limits and rules changes that would cut SNAP eligibility and benefits.

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2020-06-18T15:01:26-05:00
EducationYouth Justice

  CDF Endorses Agenda of Civil Rights Principles for Safe, Healthy, and Inclusive School Climates

The tragedies that have occurred in schools across the country demand serious investments in evidence-based policies and practices that keep children and staff safe and do not exacerbate the school-to-prison pipeline, further criminalize marginalized children, or increase the over-policing of students in schools and communities. In order to ensure that students are learning in safe, healthy, and inclusive environments, we seek PK-12 school climate legislation that meets the following principles. We ask members of Congress to fulfill their role in helping educators and communities create and maintain safe schools that afford all students equal educational opportunities by incorporating these principles into all relevant legislation.

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2020-06-17T10:29:55-05:00
Child Poverty

  Housing Is a Racial Justice Crisis: Solutions for Children and Families During COVID and Beyond

Before the COVID-19 crisis hit, millions of children and families, especially families of color, were struggling to afford housing. Housing disparities in America are a matter of racial justice; fair and affordable housing is out of reach for far too many Black and Brown families who often live in segregated neighborhoods.

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The Children’s Defense Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our Federal Tax ID number is 52-0895622.